False Pretense: The Path to Serenity
by Ryuujio
Summary: Lira's the one girl in her tribe who dares to prove her self worthy in the eyes of her superiors. But when she's a new challenger in the battle of light and darkness, she's determined to help find peace. Rated M for violence and language.
1. Prologue

**_False Pretense: The Path to Serenity  
A Dissidia: Final Fantasy Story_**

_Original Character Concepts by Square-Enix_

_Special Thanks to J0hnny0hm of _

**Author's Notes:**  
Wow, it's been such a long time since I've written a fan story involving a fan character. My friend, Steven, is writing a Kingdom Hearts one, but I didn't want to take the glory from him for that. And Dissidia is one game that I simply love still~ Lame, right? But I'm going to take a different approach to this. Rather than just following around the canon characters like a lost puppy, this character has her own path and own story to follow. Like the Destiny Odyssey stories, she'll have her own story and her own reason to why she's fighting in the Dissidia world. I didn't want her to be just some other fan character, so I took great details and analysis of her character. Yeah, I'm that much of a dork when writing an original fan story. But that's how I role~ But either way, I hope you enjoy it~ I'll work hard and do my best for this story.

(End of Author's Notes)_  
_

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**False Pretense: The Path to Serenity  
A Dissidia: Final Fantasy Story**

_Prologue_

_In this world, there is light and darkness. Two complete opposites bring balance to the world very much like how everything else does. Day and night. Sun and moon. Black and white. Light being of true purity, virtue, and peace while darkness being destruction, madness, and anarchy. The two together combine to form a balanced symphony. Equilibrium. But even if equal, the two are different, thus making it complex to determine the two sides apart even if it could be clear as day or dark as night. The only thing that will lead you is fate and beliefs. Other that than, you're on your own..._

Even though this was Lira's opinion on the world around her, she didn't fully understand the full meaning behind it. Someone very dear to her would often go one for hours about this particular subject of light and darkness, but she didn't comprehend what it fully meant. She simply believed that there is light and darkness, so let fate decide where you go. Simple terms in her mind, but she knew there was more to this lecture that meets the eye.

Yet why try to think about what it meant when one could experience it? After all, it's not everyday that one is thrown out into a battle without warning. But then again, that's how life is in situations like this.

Lira quickly paced herself down the large clashing forces around her, avoiding getting hit by anything coming at her. Being a female, the town she lived in never allowed women to set foot on the front lines nor in even a medical tent. Not unusual for most people. However, with the help of her friend, Lira was able to aid those in need on the front lines, disguised as a male. But even so, she regretted ever convincing her friend to help her cheat her way into the position she was in right now. All she could do was stay alive, she guessed.

Lira quickly dived down behind one of the large rocks for shelter against the several attacks being launched. Breathing heavily, she gripped her swords with her shaky hands. It was a very surreal feeling to be experiencing, but she seemed to getting the point of her friend's words. Everything was light or darkness. Things needed to balance out each other. But was this really needed in order to balance out everything? It all just seemed to be chaos and suffering...

"Lira!" a man dived down behind the rock with the female soldier. He looked exhausted as well from fighting. "What are you doing? You're practically on enemy lines!"

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to take out those particle beams though. Those are causing heavy casualties on our side."

"You're going to get yourself killed before you can even make it there. Fall back now."

Lira shook her head adamantly. "No! I'm already close enough to go take out that cannon. If I go back now, it'll be a waste, and I won't get respect for failing this mission."

"Respect? Don't tell me this is all out of respect!" The man took a quick look to see what the situation was so far. "Damn it, Lira. You're so stubborn. Hurry up and go, I'll cover you." He fastened his gauntlets tighter around his arms and smirked at his ally. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Lira reached for her side and pulled out a secondary sword. She then charged off head on. Her companion seemed to be a bit shocked that she would do such a rash move, but the cannon wasn't much farther. Taking out the goons protecting and guarding the cannon was the main goal. The two allies quickly dodged and weaved through the several bullets being fired at them. Lira got hit in the leg and shoulder, but she willingly endured the pain and proceeded forward.

"Abel! Take out the gunners!"

The man nodded and focused a bit. The magic power filled him until he finally casted a blazing fire spell. Several of the men below were being burnt alive by this powerful attack. Lira was taking the assault on melee style, her swords clashing against the opposing soldier's weapons. Her graceful sword dancing style was quite useful in battle. So was the enemies' distraction with the fact that a girl dared to proceed this far or even try to get out onto the battlefield. Lira took no consideration in this. She just wanted to fight and prove the men of her town wrong.

"Where's the particle cannon?" Lira questioned Abel. The two were back to back as several of the opposing soldiers approached. She looked up at the man. Her vision was a bit blurred from the blood loss after being hit quite a few times. "I don't see any cannons anywhere."

"Stand down!" The soliders surrounding the two straighed up and backed off from them. A few of the guards made way for their approaching general. Abel and Lira looked in shock when they saw that their general was a woman. Seemingly half naked in the costume she wore. Her hair looked just like the eels that slithered around her in a peculiar fashion.

"Who is she?" the young girl questioned. "Is she the general?"

Abel nodded. "And she's the cannon. She's the one who was firing the particle beams."

"Why do you dare to keep wasting time?" the woman questioned, her red eyes narrowed into a glare. "Quit playing such childish games." The soldiers saluted to their general in a stiffened manner. Shouting out their 'Yes, ma'am' as well. It was a lot formal compared to the Exian army, the one Lira and Abel came from. Their army was more casual, but at least they listened to the general.

The woman looked at the two soldiers who dared to take on her army in a full on assault. "Such a bold move yet such an unwise one indeed. Strength over logic we suppose..." The woman slowly hovered a few inches off the ground, gesturing to her soldiers to go back to the front lines and continue fighting. The soldiers left Abel, Lira, and that woman alone. She folded her arms and looked towards Abel. "Xeros, are you finished playing your little charade? You've had your fun with the little girl."

Lira looked in confusion at the woman before looking at Abel. Xeros? _The_ Xeros? That man was the one who _caused_ this war by deceiving and cheating the Exian and the Pherian nations into a battle that would cease to end? The girl seemed to back up from the man. Her eyes were wide in surprise and fear. How was it that he was able to fool her like this? A dangerous man was trapping her in false illusions of friendship and manipulated her into her demise. Lira felt her eyes tear up from disbelief. "You're Xeros?"

The man sighed and removed the helmet from his head, exposing his long blonde haired, tied back and those piercing green eyes. Lira continued to back away from him. Even when she tripped over herself, the young girl continued to back up. The man smiled a bit and knelt down before Lira. "The blood loss getting to you yet?" Lira shook her head in denial, causing Xeros to blurt out a cackle. "Stubborn little girl you are..."

When a forceful strike from Xeros's heavy combat boot was dropped onto Lira's chest, she gasped in pain, coughing up crimson blood as she laid there paralyzed. The ground around her when she was hit seemed to shatter from such immense strength. The girl continued to get knocked around by her 'companion.' Her face was beaten up and the amount of blood she lost was getting to a larger amount by the minute. She wheezed and tried to reach out for her swords, but her hand was crushed by Xeros's heavy boot. The man smirked and crushed it down even harder, causing the young girl to let out a yelp of pain.

"Xeros. Quit wasting time," the general warned. "She will be dead soon, anyways."

The man looked at the terrifying woman and frowned. "Why ruin the fun? She's my prey anyways."

"She was not your prey when she set foot here. The battle has been decided with or without our assistance. All shall be consumed by the void. That girl will be part of it."

"Well why not finish her off now? If's she no use to us, then why can't I end her right now?"

The woman looked at Xeros in disgust. Such a lowly human was speaking to her in such a manner? Simply disrespectful in her eyes for she was a far more superior being. However, she was specifically instructed to not kill the man. She turned away from the man, not even bothering to look at such worthless scum. "She does not matter either way. Those incompetent humans shall bring this world into despair of it's own. We do no need to further associate with such a time wasting matter. Finish your game and return back, Xeros. Dare disobey and you will surely be punished."

The blonde-haired man scoffed as soon as the woman disappeared in a portal of darkness. He looked down at Lira with sadistic eyes. He heard her breathing had become heavy and raspy, but he simply chuckled and backed away from the girl. "Your time is here. Hope you fade into oblivion, Lira~" He gestured a casual wave and oh-so-calmly disappeared in a portal of darkness.

Lira remained in her place on the ground. She felt the heat and blood slowly escape from her body. Her vision was a complete haze. The booming sounds of bombs and gun fire rung in her ears as she reluctantly closed her eyes.

_Has my time really come?_


	2. Chapter 1

_ Why does this feel so... familiar? This light... It's warm and blinding._

Lira covered her eyes with her hands as the blinding white light seemed to embrace her in it's warmth. Such an odd sense to be feeling. She was bleeding to death, wasn't she? Passed out in the middle of a battlefield and left for dead, right?

_Am I... dead?_

She closed her eyes tightly, using her hands to grip her arms as she folded them over her chest. She knelt down onto her knees and growled a bit. What was going on? Where was she exactly? Will this light ever end?

_ Don't worry, child. Just keep your eyes closed. Everything will be alright..._

The new voice was a bit startling to her, but she didn't want to be blinded by the light. Mysterious yet kind at the same time, the voice spoke her to calmly.

_You have nothing to fear. Let the darkness consume you..._

_ No, please open your eyes, Lira. _This new voice sounded peaceful and firm as it tried to persuade Lira. The light glistened around the young girl brilliantly. _Look towards a new path. A new path to the light._

"The... light?" Lira reluctantly opened up one of her eyes to see what this light sense was. One side of her still in the dark and one side of her stepping into the light. Which path would she choose? Before she could decide, she felt herself fade from reality. Her vision went onto to be a complete blur.

"I just don't know anymore..."

"Oh no..."

The goddess murmured those words as she opened up her sorrowful eyes. Her gaze was set on the seemingly endless plain known as the Order of Emptiness. Her flowing gown surely showed her godly appearance as well as her pale, glowing skin. She looked at the ground as she thought cautiously of what she needed to do next. She had just sent out her warriors on their journeys to obtain their own crystals. Leaving her with a situation in her hands. The goddess looked down towards the ground as she tried to search her find to a solution to this problem.

"You look sorrowful, Cosmos. So troubled indeed. A conflict to deal with? Oh what can it be?" The small woman approached the goddess as she took notice in her troubled appearance. The woman was dressed in standard mage attire, yet she was only about a foot or two tall. She was a rather peculiar woman compared to the tall heavenly figure she was talking to, but this woman did give a rather spunky appearance to her.

The goddess looked at the little woman and displayed a small smile. It disappeared though when she looked back into the distance. "I sense a dark aura, Lady Shantotto... It's quite troubling to me..."

"You felt that aura as well? So I am not the only one. Shall we investigate this and see what is to come?"

Cosmos let out a small sigh. "I cannot go and see. But Lady Shantotto, will you be willing to see what this troubling sense is?"

The small woman chuckled a bit. Her voice high-pitched and proud. "But of course I can! Anything for a friend. I shall scan the areas carefully from points to end. It troubles me also, for this isn't a plot. But it is merely a girl, summoned here whether she would like it or not..."

Cosmos nodded and looked at Shantotto, her eyes urgent and worried. "That's why I'm so afraid. What if Chaos got his hands on her?"

With her head pounding from such a throbbing sensation, Lira gripped her head as she sat up. Her eyes still shut tight from exhaustion. Sleep seemed nice at the moment, but she refused to sleep right now. After all, she just woke up. In fact, she could get even more sleep. All she had to do was fall back over, use her jacket as a pillow, and fall asleep. But either way, she couldn't move that much since bullets were still stuck in her skin. Probably all she could do at the moment is sit up and fall back over.

So with that, she fell back over, opening her eyes to take a look at the sky. It was dark actually. Night time it seemed. The stars were out, a small bit of the moon was somewhere out of Lira's range of vision, and the sky had a deep blue tint to it. It was almost begging her to go back to sleep, but she wanted to admire it. So she stayed there, flat on her back, and looked up at the sky with tired eyes. She felt a bit of her wounds bleed out a bit more, but she didn't care. Lira felt like she was going to die from pain, but at least she'll die with a happy view...

"Hey! Look over there!"

"A girl? Why is she just passed out like that?"

Lira heard two voices approach her quickly. She was going to move out of the way, but then again, she couldn't. She tried to her best to ignore them and she watched the sky again, even if the two figures were now hovering over her. Her eyes wide open and her breathing was shallow, causing the two strangers to freak out.

"Oh my Cosmos, Zi. Is she dead?"

"I dunno, Bartz. She looks in pretty bad shape... Maybe I should kiss her like in Sleeping Beauty. The princess woke up when the prince did that."

"You're no prince though..."

Lira figured that if this kept up, something bad would end up happening to her. "And I ain't no princess." The two boys sort of screamed in fright at the sudden realization that Lira was alive. She did such a good job at being skill and lifeless that they really believed that she was dead. That was surely a great compliment... Not... The girl looked up at the two boys with an irritated and exhausted gaze. Her arms just barely able to move, but she pointed at the two boys weakly. "Do you two know any cure spells?"

The boys looked at Lira then at each other. Their eyes a bit wide in shock. They didn't recognize the girl, but she was bleeding out on the ground. They might as well help a 'damsel in distress.'

"I know a few," Bartz stated. He looked at Lira's wounds with his brown eyes. "Wow, are those bullet wounds?" He scratched his head curiously at them. "I've never really helped treat one before..."

"No problem. Just heal them enough to stop the bleeding." Lira sat up and turned away from the two boys. From what she observed, she had two bullets wounds. One was only a large gash in her side where the bullet went clean through, but the other was in her leg. So she took off her glove and dug into the holster around her waist, taking out a small dagger. She bit her lip, knowing how much this would hurt and took the bullet out carefully. She managed to suck up her pain and take out the bullet, throwing it off to the side. The two boys looked at her in a surprised way. She took a bullet out of her leg with a dagger and didn't even cry? That's really tough. Even they wouldn't do that alone like that. "Can you heal me now?"

"Uh, sure."

"Wait, Bartz." The blonde-haired boy stopped his friend. He looked at Lira with his blue eyes, intrusting of this girl's intentions. "How do you know if she's with Chaos?"

"You were just wanting to kiss her a few minutes ago, Zidane," Bartz grinned, "She's not even trying to attack us and she's bleeding out! That doesn't seem like something Chaos's minions would-"

"Chaos?" Lira raised an eyebrow and tossed her dagger off to the side. "My people worship a god named Chaos, but what's that have to do with it?"

"She's with Chaos!" Zidane exclaimed, "Bartz, we can't trust her if she's with Chaos. No matter how good looking, pretty, hot... whatever she is!"

Lira rolled her eyes. Good looking? Pretty? Hot? She had a large scar on her face and she was practically bleeding to death, and he thinks that's pretty? "Chaos can burn for all I care. I don't rely on gods and religion, you little monkey brat."

"Monkey brat? How rude of a lady to insult me..."

Lira scoffed and fell back onto her back. "I don't want to be a lady. They get no respect at all. In fact, I couldn't even help my country without lying about my gender. It's disgraceful of me, but who cares? As long as I'm willing to help the people who need it... Now if you're complaining over the fact that my people worship Chaos while I'm a atheist, then go ahead. But I at least want to be healed before I leave."

Bartz looked at Zidane, his face looked infuriated with this girl. One of the only women that Bartz had ever seen Zidane get mad at. It was odd... "I'm not sure if she is with Chaos, Zi. I've never seen her around before... After all, she just, well, stayed there, and she doesn't even have a weapon."

"Got lost when I was attacked," Lira nodded, "Can you heal me before I lose even more blood? I'm even surprised I'm still alive after taking a hell of a beating... But if you help me, I'll be sure to help you out in the future if you need it, okay?"

Bartz looked at Zidane and smiled a bit, hoping the blonde would say yes. Of course, he ended up giving into a woman (no matter how much of a pain) like he usually does. Zidane nodded to his friend and the brown-haired boy healed Lira's leg and side. It wasn't fully healed, but at least Lira would move. The black haired girl took off her jacket afterwords and tore it up, using the shreds of it to bandage up her side and leg.

"Alright, thanks for healing me. I'm out now."

As Lira began to walk off the two boys followed after her. "Wait! Where are you going? Aren't you going to travel with us?"

"No thanks. I'm going to find a way to get back home. You guys can go have fun and enjoy yourselves or whatever you were doing. I've got to report to my superior."

"Superior? Do you mean Lady Cosmos?" Bartz questioned. When he saw Lira's expression, the black haired girl looked to be confused. As though he was psychotic.

"Lady Cosmos? She is the goddess of the Pherians. I'm an Exian so my people worship Chaos. But I have no part in this since I don't care about this at all. In fact, Chaos and Cosmos were the one of the main reasons the battle between the Pherians and Exians started." Lira let out a sigh and walked away from Bartz and Zidane. "I don't have time to waste on this. I need to get back home..."

"But how are you suppose to fight off Chaos's minions? You don't even have a weapon," Bartz pointed to Lira's empty belt. When Lira took notice in that, she bluntly frowned and continued walking. However, the two boys grabbed her arm and stopped her from going any farther. "Seriously, are you insane? You're going to get yourself killed!"

Lira displayed a very firm and violent glare at the two boys, causing them to back off from her. She turned around to face them with discontent. "I don't have time to deal with you two. I have to find someone and get back home. Just because I'm going out without a weapon doesn't mean I can't take care of myself. Let me be..."

She took notice in how worried those two boys looked. After all, letting a wounded person go out on their own. And that person happens to be a girl? That would be rude to do to a lady! However, since Lira had a hard time admitting she was a lady, it changed things a bit. But even so, those two boys seemed concern about Lira. Even if she considered it to be only a minor issue, in their eyes, it seemed to be a big problem.

Lira finally let out a sigh of annoyance. "You know what, if you let me go, I promise I'll come back and tell you that I'm okay, alright? That way I can show you that I'm able to handle myself."

Bartz and Zidane looked at each other, both getting the same thought in their head about what might happen. Letting an injured person go out on their own, even if they insist would be a bad idea... "Okay, but first, trying walking about five steps."

Rubbing the temples of her head in exasperation, she nodded and took a step foreward. There's one... Two... Three- Suddenly, Lira's leg gave in and she stumbled. Bartz quickly caught the wounded soldier just before she hit the ground. A small smile appeared in his face as he looked at Lira. However, her look was very enraged. "Looks like you could use some help from a friend."

"Friend? As if..." Lira groaned and let Bartz support her up. "But help from a person who could give me help in the future is fine. Either way, I can't get rid of you two, can I?"

Zidane and Bartz laughed at Lira's negative attitude and began to walk with her out of the area. "You remind me of someone else we know..."


End file.
